- What up blog?
We're back.
New York City, beautiful day.
Pretty intense 2.5 days to Asia.
I'm back on the playing field.
Wonderful day.
- Wonderful day.
Really productive, super excited
about what's going on there.
(indiscernible)
♫ We're unstoppable
- Hey guys.
This is going to be an incredible video.
I'm so fascinated by hiring and building businesses,
this is one of the most interesting exchanges I've ever had
in a conference.
I had this in Singapore.
It was incredible back and forth.
There was an insight that I
that I genuinely believe will help so many.
Tens of thousands of you have
a better business going forward.
Hope you enjoy this.
Let me know what you think.
- [Audience Member] Every business there's
a supply and the demand side.
- The most interesting thing
that I've heard somebody say in a long time,
because you're 100% right.
It blows my mind that almost nobody talks about it.
- [Audience member] Here's my issue.
I don't have any problem with the demand portion.
- Okay.
- [Audience member] The minute I go out there,
I open my mouth, I'll get business.
- You don't know how to fill the pipe.
- Yes.
And I don't know how to duplicate myself.
- Because you can't.
I don't know if you've heard.
(audience laughing)
- [Audience member] Yes, I know that.
But I need to,
I really, really need to automate my business
and duplicate myself so that I can go home
and have a holiday.
- I understand.
There's only two things holding you back.
Your inability to operate,
or your ego.
So we just have to dissect it with a couple of questions.
What do you sell?
- [Audience member] I'm in consulting.
- Great.
Why haven't you hired more people to consult?
- [Audience member] I have.
- Good.
- [Audience member] But they're just not up to it.
They're not up to the level...
- Hold on, hold on.
Up to whose level?
Yours, or the clients'?
- The level that I set as a basis to benchmark.
- Real quick.
Who's hiring these people?
- [Audience member] Me.
- Let's play this game together.
(audience laughing)
- [Audience member] Alright.
- What's about to happen is you're about to get exposed
to yourself and then you'll be able to win.
You're playing a very fun game of you've got
a big fucking ego.
I mean it.
You've got to wrap your head around this.
You're hiring.
You've created an arbitrary benchmark
that nobody's hitting,
because you've put yourself on a pedestal
at the mercy and the detriment of building a bigger business
because you want to self-fulfill that you're so much better.
Play with me.
You can't, think about...
- [Audience member] I'm not willing to lower my standards.
- So don't.
Don't scale then, be a one-woman shop.
- [Audience member] I believe I can do more.
I believe we should duplicate this.
I've got the models.
I've got everything there.
I basically completed everything that I do.
All you need to do is take the template,
follow the SOP,
and let's go out,
hit the market.
- How many employees have you had at the height?
- [Audience member] 12.
- And how many do you have now?
- [Audience member] Two.
- And was it customers firing them?
- [Audience member] Me.
At one point early this year,
everyone left.
I'm fine with that.
- Why?
- [Audience member] Because they realized that it was
the wrong place for them to be.
I realized that I can't,
there's no point for me to keep anyone
when they can't do the job.
I'm prepared.
- Have you thought about the possibility
of you being a great consultant but a terrible boss?
I'm asking, I'm asking.
- [Audience member] I have the reputation I know.
- Okay.
Thanks for answering.
I'm being serious with you.
The reason I went right at it: I want you to win.
It's a game of ego.
What people don't understand is that is the problem.
The reason that I've been able to scale VaynerMedia,
many think that I have an ego.
I play on confidence,
which is what allows me to scale.
I don't hold everybody to an arbitrary metric
that has no reality other
than what's playing in my own head.
To me, if you're the one firing,
or they're quitting 'cause
the work environment is exhausting
because you keep pounding the drum
of some fake Mendoza line of quality needed
that you are the judge and jury of.
It's some interpretation of how you decide
they follow the template.
You're just scratching your own ego
of how great you are at the detriment of your business.
The reason I have 800 employees and high retention
is I don't hold any of them to my standard
because they don't need to be me
to build an actual business.
You decide if you want to build a one-woman shop
or an actual business.
(audience clapping)
And can I tell you something?
There's nothing wrong with a one-woman shop,
the way you scale is you may charge for content,
you may write a book,
you may start getting paid more to speak.
You know what I mean?
Even when I say it,
you don't need to build a 40-person consulting shop
because maybe you don't like it.
It's not that you're a bad person,
it's that you don't want to lower your standards.
If you're stuck in that,
then monetize a different way by expanding more around you
versus trying to build out the actual business around it,
you know what I mean?
And that's okay.
It doesn't make you a bad person.
As a matter of fact,
you'll probably be disproportionally more successful
'cause you're being self-aware
and enjoying being the one-person band
and making your money that way.
You don't have to build VaynerMedia.
You don't have to build Bain or McKinsey.
Be you and be your best self your way and enjoy it.
(audience clapping)
Easily one of the best videos for so many of you.
The question of the day is: did this help you?
And more importantly,
what are you gonna do about it?
See ya.
♫ There's a moment
♫ In your bones when
♫ When the fire takes over
♫ Blood is running
♫ Heart is pumping
♫ As the battle gets closer